Sunday, February 23, 2014

Shakshouka recipe (Israeli eggs)

There's no magic or kabbalah in this post. It's a recipe for shakshouka, which is a delicious, easy impressive way to make breakfast (or brinner). I'm mostly writing it so my roommate will take the hint and make shakshousa for dinner sometimes. :) It takes about 15 minutes to make, and is whipped up with stuff you almost certainly have in your kitchen (or, if not, you should). I make mine with cheesy garlic dumplings, but that's completely optional. My Turkish ex used to make a version with a spicy beef sausage called sucuk (which is very much like pepperoni), which is also very, very good. You can get sucuk at any middle eastern store, or you could just use pepperoni or chorizo. You can also throw in any other veggies you want. Spinach is good, but looks kind of ooky.

With the dumplings, it's dairy, but if you know how to make non-dairy dumplings, it would be easy to make pareve. Omit the dumplings to make it gluten free. It can't be vegan, because it's essentially poached eggs in sauce. If you omit the eggs, it's just spicy tomato sauce with dumplings, which I guess is also ok. I think, actually, this kind of tomato sauce might be called "harissa"

The eggs aren't done yet. The white blobs are dumplings. Also, this is my favorite pan. The handle broke, and my Dad welded it back together. Also, how do people on the internet make pictures of food look so good? I promise it tastes better than it looks.

OR the equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes, diced. Ifyou use fresh tomatoes, you need to cook it slightly longer, to let the tomatoes soften.

1 small diced onion OR diced green onion (optional)

diced bell peppers (traditional, but optional. I often leave them out because I don't always have peppers in the house, and I don't really like peppers anyway)

whatever leftover vegetables are in the fridge and look like they might go bad. diced. zucchini and carrots are especially good.

garlic to taste

middle eastern spice mix (my go-to mix is below, but any kind of commercial one is fine too. the kind you want is called "res al hanout")

Cheesy Garlic Dumplings:

1 cup biscuit mix (or your favorite dumpling recipe)

1/2 cup shedded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup milk (or however much your dumpling recipe calls for)

2 Tbsp crushed garlic (you could probably use powder if that's what you have.)

black pepper to taste

Saute the onions with some salt and pepper. If you're using cast iron, you'll need a little butter or olive oil. If you're using nonstick pans, you should probably get cast iron pans, because they are awesome.
Once the onions are translucent, and starting to brown, add the tomatoes. Turn down the heat, and mix your dumplings in a bowl. There are directions on the back of the Bisquick box. Let the tomatoes simmer until they're soft and saucey (about the consistency of lumpy ketchup)

Add the spices to the tomatoes, and stir well. Gently spoon the dumpling mixture into the tomatoes, and cover the pan until the dumplings aren't liquid anymore. I like my eggs kind of runny, so I let the dumplings steam for a few minutes before I add the eggs.

After about 3 or 4 minutes, make a few dents in the tomatoes and gently crack eggs into them. Cover the pan until the eggs are as cooked as you like. (For me, that means the whites are solid, and the yolks are skinned over, but still runny). The dumplings are quite tolerant of varying cook times.

Eat hot. If you didn't make dumplings, eat with crusty bread or toasted pita. The dumplings and tomatoes reheat very well, but the eggs not so much.